Thursday, August 16, 2007

Indian Vegetable Soup in Creamy Italian Broth

Hey All! I am back and I am back with this fusion Indo-Italian Soup and a wonderful news to share with you all. The good news is we are expecting OUR FIRST CHILD..... I know you all must be very surprised, isn't it, but that's true. After completing my first trimester in June, we went to India for a month to attend my sister, Neha's Wedding and have just come back on 7Th of August. Now, I'll try to be regular on my blog, but hey, still can't promise for sure. The baby has already started governing my life ;)) In my first 3 months, I was totally off food, no cooking, so experimenting with food was a far away thing for me, but now things have changed again. So, here I am..... back to share my recipes and experiences with you all. I would also like to thank all my blogger buddies for visiting my blog off and on and leaving their wonderful comments for me. So, lets start by cooking something that will satisfy your taste buds for sure...

Ingredients:

Onion (1, Finely Chopped)

Garlic (2 Cloves, Finely Chopped)

Tomato (2, Chopped)

Spinach (1/2 of the 8oz box of Frozen Spinach)

Chicken Broth (1, 8oz Can)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil / Vegetable oil (1 Tbsp)

For White Sauce:

Butter (2 Tbsp)

All-Purpose Flour (3 Tbsp)

Milk (2.5 Cups, at Room Temperature)

Cream (5 Tbsp)

Black Pepper (to Taste)

Salt (to Taste)

Method:

Start by making white sauce for the soup. Heat butter in a pan and add flour to it. Fry it till the raw flour taste goes away.

Add room temperature milk to the pan and stir until the sauce thickens.

Now add cream, salt and black pepper and stir again. Keep aside.

In a large pan, heat oil and fry chopped onions and garlic in it.

Now add chicken broth to it and let it come to a boil.

Add spinach and white sauce to it and stir well. Let it simmer for 5-7 minutes on a medium flame.

Serve it hot garnished with fresh chopped tomatoes and garlic bread on the side.

Tip: To make it completely vegetariandon't use chicken broth. You can also use diced Carrots and mushrooms in it to make it more nutritious. But don't forget to fry mushrooms with garlic and onion.

Hi NidhiJust landed up on your site..you've got a lot of interesting stuff...with winters setting in this soup looks tempting...am a veggie so will try out with mushrooms...even sandesh is one of my favs.Do visit my blog too!!Swati

Congratulations!!!!! love your blog. your pics are amazing, especially the cakes. I was in meerut for awhile too - my folks were posted there years ago. Eat lots of veggies, the soup looks good. When I was pregnant with my baby - I made sure I ate a variety of tastes. except non-veg cos i don't eat meat. apparantly from the 6th month onwards babies can taste! and the only time I ever kept a cook was during my pregnancy as I couldnt bear the sight of the kitchen!!! Just looking at food cooking and utensild lying around would throw me in a temper! anyways all the best!

hi nidhi, had dropped by your blog sometime back - and left comments as well - they don;t seem to have showed up. anyways, just want to tell you you have some wonderful recipes out here and I am glad to have found your blog.

i definitely love your own posting way, very charming,don't quit and keep writing simply because it simply just worth to look through it.looking forward to look at alot more of your content pieces, have a pleasant day ;)

Nidhi, you are indeed a creative cook; imagine combining an Indian soup with an Italian broth! Your soup looks yummy and healthy as well, and would probably do its good work on a cold evening when you feel like curling up with a good book and dreaming about the future...With the lifestyle related diseases that are rampant today, we all need a soup like yours to pep up our lives without fearing piling on the kilos! For some expert tips and suggestions on healthy eating habits visit http://knorratseven.blogspot.com/.